A debut coming of age story set in Southern woods filled drugs and violence--and a hidden tradition of voodoo-like magic. In a hard-scrabble town where family history defines destinies, a handful of teenagers bear witness to old traumas that still haunt adults working to keep food on the table. Modern pressures deepen old ruts, and in a circle of friends, each looks for their own path. A local drug ring offers high-speed comforts, and while some fall for easy choices, others find the strength to make their own place in the woods.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Children of the Country is a literary novel that reads like a thriller. In luminous prose, Shaffer tells a riveting, terrifying story of human violence, cruelty, and undying love, and she never puts a foot wrong. A marvelous debut." ― Pinckney Benedict, author of Miracle Boy and Other Stories and Dogs of God

“In this haunting debut, Abigail Shaffer plumbs the depths of the Rough South as too few female voices do. She chronicles generations of youth spent on splintered porches and sweaty backseats, lost to the specters of sex, drugs, and short horizons. I hear Bonnie Jo Campbell in her work, but more than that I hear Harry Crews and Breece Pancake and Larry Brown, car wheels on a gravel road, the echo of a barn owl near dawn. This is a writer to listen to, for years to come.” ― Ashley Warlick, author of The Arrangement and Seek the Living

“There is magic within these pages. Shaffer’s prose, gorgeous though it is, is merely our guide into the dark piney woods, the haunting and shimmering psyches from which characters speak to us in tongues of generational wisdom and survival. A formidable debut.”― April Ford, author of The Poor Children

About the Author

Abigail R. Shaffer earned her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. Her work has appeared in Crab Creek Review, SLAB Literary Journal and other journals. With roots in the Ozarks, she lived for several years in Arkansas. She's also earned an MSW, teaches writing and resides in the Midwest. This is her first novel.

Originally published in SFWP Quarterly:For most of us, growing up is challenging. We struggle with our identities, our hopes and dreams. We navigate, with varying degrees of success, the social landscape of school. We learn to carve a niche within our own family members, some of whom we like, some of whom we learn to tolerate, but all of whom we depend on in one way another, because we need them. Now imagine handling all of this in a relatively isolated small town where few positive options to better your life exist. What would you be willing to do to chase your dreams? Especially when something awful happens to a member of your family, an event that will forever change the direction of your lives?Such is the set-up of Abigail Shaffer’s Children of the Country, an engaging, nimble (and at times dark) story of characters struggling to get by in the backwoods of Southern Arkansas.Sheri, an intellectually stunted woman, is trying to venture out in life, so one night her sister Kelly—with whom she lives—takes her for a night on the town at the local bar, where her subsequent rape sets off a change reaction that draws Kelly’s boyfriend Walter to take revenge. Meanwhile, Kelly’s two young children, Ricky (who soon develops a penchant for starting fires) and his younger sister Cindy Rae (who her family thinks is mute), are trying to figure out what they will be able to get out of this life. Although the story follows the lives of Sheri and Kelly as they struggle through the fallout of the attack, the story very quickly focuses on Cindy Rae—and to a lesser extent Ricky—as she follows Ricky into the drug business, where she keeps books for the local kingpin while Ricky runs the product. Will she ever find her way out of this town, this life, and realize her dream of attending college and making a much different life for herself?Shaffer wisely chooses a rotating third-person point of view to weave this multi-character tapestry. First, the slight distance provided by the third person allows us enough space to understand what each character is feeling. We experience Carly Rae’s chosen silence yet also observe its impact on her family members. We truly understand Ricky’s choices as he lashes out at the world and various people who have wronged him, yet we appreciate that these aren’t the best choices to make. The third person alignment also allows us to better focus on any one character at important moments. For example, during the attack, we feel Sheri’s confusion and terror. An omniscient narrator would have too easily slipped between characters rather than anchoring us with one character in particular section of the story. Throughout, Shaffer’s nimble prose remains in complete control.Shaffer also moves deftly between characters without losing any narrative momentum. The sections are often compact—a few pages at a time—and this structure allows us to develop connections with these characters in bursts before moving on. Rather than sacrificing depth by not providing long stretches with any one character, Shaffer chooses strong moments to show how these characters are evolving throughout the story. By doing this, the story stays fresh throughout. The use of present tense further adds to this brisk pace.The ultimate effect here conveys the very real, very honest feelings these characters experience of feeling lost and, often, alone, especially Cindy Rae, who is reaching for any and every opportunity to work her way out of this life.Given the strengths of the book, there are a few—albeit minor—hiccups. I questioned the use of sections in the book. Typically, sections serve as strong units of development. Shaffer separates the story into two parts. However, this didn’t seem to add much—the first seventy-one pages are devoted to building the story and characters while the longer second part (72-248) delivers on the plot set in motion. You could ignore this simple division and the story doesn’t change.I also wasn’t sure how to feel about the ending. Since so much of the emphasis is on Carly Rae through much of the book, the ending understandably centers on her—and this works for what Shaffer has put in play. However, the death of another character happens so quickly that we don’t see how this impacts her—nor the other members of the family, all of whom will be affected. And since we are invited to be invested in their emotional lives, this seemed to matter. The two other characters who do get attention in the moment aren’t the ones that matter as much. This left me wanting more, as if the story still had more to say. Still, the ending image suggests that Carly Rae is in a stronger, more in control place in her life. Perhaps this is what the story had to say. Given the messy details of the lives these characters lived, another ending would have been too forced, too neat, and, even, too cliché.Given the exceptional use of details throughout, which often paint such clear pictures with a simple, non-cliché phrase, it’s hard to knock the choice Shaffer makes to close the story. Life’s not easy, so what do people do with the choices at their disposal? The book is a respectable debut by a writer who will surely build on this promising novel.

I love novels with distinct parts. Another story after the first one’s potential is maximized, all in the same book. Elizabeth Strout’s AMY AND ISABELLE excited me in this way. So did Richard Ford’s CANADA. Now it’s debut author Abigail R. Shaffer’s CHILDREN OF THE COUNTRY.

In my 20s when I worked as a writing mentor for troubled youth, I found it difficult to watch kids leave the system as brand-new adults; the enforced parameters of our relationships meant I never got to see what they did next with their lives, or if any of our interactions had lasting effects on them. So when CHILDREN OF THE COUNTRY opened up for me in this way, invited me to follow Ricky and Cindy Rae as they began the next stages of their lives, I felt a surge of gratitude not only for Shaffer’s generosity to her readers but also for her tremendous ability to make the harrowing lives of her characters so accessible and essential.

Children of the Country is a stark depiction of the modern American South. Set in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas, the novel tells the story of a small community embedded in beautiful country. Once an untamed and mystical place, it is now the sight of poverty and crime. These children of the country, adults and minors alike, struggle to survive in their changing region, carrying the burdens of their past along with them.

With plainspoken, relentless prose, Shaffer weaves a nuanced and piercing tale in the unmistakable cadence of the region. Think William Faulkner with a grittiness reminiscent of Larry Brown. Front porch rockers, dirt roads, and pick-up trucks abound, but this is no Dixieland show. The Whistle Stop Cafe has been razed. The Hawg now stands in its place.

Children of the Country is the kind of story that sucks you in and spits you out. I wasn't ready for the ending and I kind of fought it a little along the way. The author writes very descriptive in ways that allows you to imagine you are there. The characters were both interesting and intriguing and a little infuriating! They don't always do what you want them to do. I loved the flow of this book. It's a story that requires a quiet room and a comfortable chair and plenty of time to let yourself be absorbed into the story. Can't wait to see what the author (Hi abby!!!) writes next.

I found myself immediately curious about Cindy Rae and the other characters in Ms. Shaffer's book. Her vivid prose pulled me in and made me feel the dust and heat and see the shabby cottage in need of paint and many repairs. Each member of Cindy's family has a story of struggle and you wonder if any will find a happy ending or just continue to survive. The storytelling is superb and will tug at your heart. If you loved Winter's Bone, don't miss Children of the Country.